When dates are more expansive they have the capacity to open up different perspectives than would usually show, more time travelling together, the experience of different places and activities, can all expand the understanding of the many facets of our potential true love as fresh insights come from their time dating.
An hour south of Tennoji, Wakayama city feels like many other regional centres – full of retro charm and cars. More famous in the minds of many Japanese for its fruit and the beautiful beaches of Shirahama, the capital of the prefecture has a long and storied history, with ancient tombs, samurai relics, and Bubble-era architecture to prove it.
Why Longer Dates Work
Day-long dates have the potential to cement relationships deeply together. Deciding itineraries, hopping trains, navigating new paths, and problem solving the bumps along the way are experiences that provide a solid foundation to love, and great skills to practise for those hoping to form long lasting partnerships.
Conveniently located and blessed with a diversity of unique activities, Wakayama city is the perfect spot to explore together, sampling some of the lesser seen cultural offerings while dating in Japan. Couples who enjoy getting off the beaten path, can wander its sites and streets, discovering hidden gems along the way.
So take the time – take a whole day! – to visit Wakayama city and its quirkiest dating locations.
Location:
Wakayama
Time:
Year round
Good for:
- Photographers
- Hikers
- History and culture buffs
Quick points:
- Accessible by public transport
- Visit in May to see Wakamatsuri festival
- Entry fees lower than in other parts of Kansai
Wakayama Castle
“Another castle?” Is a perfectly understandable reaction from those who’ve spent more than a week in Japan. With Himeji and Osaka as perfect examples of medieval battlements nearby, why bother stopping in to see Wakayama’s? However, open-minded explorers will enjoy this start to their quirky quest, and the chance to uncover the distinctive features of this fortress.
The castle also boasts an impressive display of cherry blossoms for romantic spring picnics.
Built during the warring states period, Wakayama castle became a stronghold for members of the Tokugawa family during their long reign. Its strategic importance, close to Osaka, resulted in augmentation to the walls over the centuries with some sections high enough to feel properly intimidating, while older sections are constructed roughly enough for the curious climber to attempt (do not). The extensive outer park is free to meander and full of oddities like a large tiger statue, which represents the shape of the castle’s mountain foundation; a unique sloping bridge that connects the inner and outer moats; and even the occasional flag-bearing samurai performing for the crowd. A carefully preserved garden, Nishinomaru Teien, is also open to enjoy.
A small fee allows entry into the main building, reconstructed post-war, where dating couples can find a restrained array of artifacts to peruse, including samurai swords and Portuguese flint-locks; a view of the ocean from the top turret; and white stones raked into a heart-shape to take selfies beside.
Kii-fudoki-no-oka Museum of Archaeology and Folklore
A fun representation of the famous Confucian maxim in the style of Jomon clay haniwa.
It may not seem like the most obvious place for a date, but couples can scramble through layers of history here together, reminded by each fragment and stone-built monument that people have been living, and loving, each other for thousands of years. How sweet.
Experience history outdoors while hiking around the park and peeking into excavated kofun.
Porto Europa
The 90s was an era of odd and ambitious theme-parks. Notable examples include Festival Gate, a towering behemoth adjacent to Spa World, made to represent the lost city of Atlantis, and Gulliver’s Kingdom with the titular character lying creepily prone in the foreground of Mt Fuji. While both went bankrupt, Porto Europa escaped their fate and, to this day, guests can drift by its photogenic French fountains, Italian inspired port and Spanish styled castle, enjoying the atmosphere of Europe without ever leaving Japan.
Free to enter, Porto Europa is a favourite haunt of locals.
The space has a storybook or movie-set feel. Seaside breezes whisper along cobbled streets, or whoosh past while couples spin 12 metres up in the air as they ride the Wave Swinger attraction. With street performances and frequent cosplay events, this late Bubble-era theme park feels like stepping into a Renaissance based anime. Couples can enjoy the romance of strolling in through a shared daydream and letting the scenery do all the heavy lifting.
A fantastic spot for photos, no matter what you’re wearing.
Seasonal Sights: Wakamatsuri
Taiko drummers, sumo wrestlers, and demon-faced menkaburi monsters have stalked the streets of Wakanoura port every second Sunday of May for over four hundred years. Born as a tribute to Tokugawa Ieyasu on his death, the event begins with the heart-stopping plunge of a mikoshi shrine down the 108 stone steps of Kishuu Toushou-guu Shrine, before continuing more sedately along the port-side streets as a parade of Edo-era-costumed characters.
Photographers in particular will relish the variety and colour of this event. More casual and interactive than Kyoto’s stately Jidai Matsuri, Wakamatsuri has a uniquely southern Kansai friendliness. Though “friendly” can be a relative term when a Noh-masked menkaburi, balancing on 30cm tall geta, is striding towards you.
This weird little festival is a chance for couples to get swept up in the noise of a history lesson/adventure together.
Don’t worry. After they terrify you, they will give you candy.
Final Thought On Dating In Wakayama
Wakayama is weird, though not in a bad way. Less polished than other tourist centres, it preserves its rituals and relics of the past, without adapting much to the future. And for some, that’s exactly the charm of the place. A gorgeous castle, ancient burial mounds, and a still solvent 90s theme-park offer aesthetics uncluttered by crowds and sweet moments to share.
The Kansai area is one of the most charming areas of Japan, there is a deep diversity across culture, history, food and everything a dating couple could desire in terms of experiences, whether they are just venturing into a new relationship as yet to even do a kokuhaku, or years into a happy marriage or otherwise successful relationship. While many do stick to things like a classic Kyoto date, venturing around art galleries in Nakanoshima, or the old side streets of Nara and Naramachi, going beyond the likes of Kyoto, Osaka, or Kobe can bring a level of refreshment that expands the senses for loving couples with a youthful energy.
For those who come for the history, the scenery, or simply the joy of discovering something a little unexpected together, Wakayama has a way of turning an ordinary day into a story of that one quirky date. Whether visiting from overseas and seeking an expanded idea of being romantic in Japan, or venturing along the sometimes mysterious path of dating with Japanese people, Wakayama has wondrous things to offer.